1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a forging machine, and more particularly to a forging machine that includes a guiding roller mechanism for guiding movement of a sliding plate unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional forging machine 1 is shown to include a machine bed 11, a feeding unit 13 disposed at a front end of a right side of the machine bed 11 for feeding a linear material 10 intermittently, a female die mechanism 14 disposed on a front portion of the machine bed 11, a male die mechanism 15 disposed on the machine bed 11 behind the female die mechanism 14, a cutting mechanism 16 movable reciprocally between the female and male die mechanisms 14, 15 for cutting the material 10 to form blanks, a holding mechanism 17 for holding and conveying the blanks, and a sliding plate unit 18 for driving the cutting mechanism 16 and the holding mechanism 17.
The holding mechanism 17 includes a plurality of openable and closable holders 171. The blanks are moved among the holders 171. The male die mechanism 15 cooperates with the female die mechanism 14 to perform successive forging of the blanks.
Power is transmitted to the feeding mechanism 13, the male die mechanism 15, the cutting mechanism 16, and a portion of the holding mechanism 17 by means of members that are disposed at a right side of the forging machine 1, and to the remaining portion of the holding mechanism 17 by means of members that are disposed at a left side of the forging machine 1.
Opening and closing of the holders 171 is controlled by first and second driving shafts 172, 173 that are interconnected by a bevel gear unit. The sliding plate unit 18 is provided with a fixed camming plate 181 for pushing the cutting unit 16 and the holders 171 to reciprocate.
The aforesaid conventional forging machine 1 suffers from the following disadvantages:
(1) The sliding plate unit 18 cannot reciprocate smoothly due to frictional contact with guiding means disposed on the machine bed 11.
(2) The sliding plate unit 18 and an assembly of the first and second driving shafts 172, 173 are disposed respectively on right and left sides of the machine bed 11. As a result, a sufficient working space is not provided to allow a technician to check the condition of the holders 171.